THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090014
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Your coverage of the Goals 2000 education battle shows poor reporting and an overt bias toward liberal Democrats. In every article I've read, you have reported that there seems to be an overwhelming need to use what amounts to insignificant funds. You cite examples of how the Goals 2000 funds would supply a specific educational improvement in a school district. Then, in the guise of balanced reporting, you report that the curmudgeonly governor refuses to request the funds. The reason - a vague ``strings are attached.'' Then you rebut this with comments from an interviewee.
Why don't you ever report that if Goals 2000 funds are used, further parental control of education will be taken away? Goals 2000 will implement a broad array of federally directed programs including:
National Education Standards and Improvement Council. A national school board appointed by the president and endowed with unprecedented federal powers. Those powers include the ability to implement national curriculum, national testing, uniform requirements for materials and uniform instruction.
Federal funding for outcome-based education.
The transformation of schools into centers that offer a variety of social services.
Implementation of an early childhood-intervention program known as Parent As Teachers, under which ``parent educators'' would personally enter homes to determine whether or not parents were adequately preparing their children to begin school - according to PAT standards.
The ``local control'' provided under Goals 2000 is mandated by federal guidelines. ``Parental involvement'' means that parents will be judged according to educators' standards.
WILLIAM R. WHITE
Suffolk, April 26, 1996 by CNB